VIRTUAL CURRENCY
Hackers steal US$60m
Hackers stole US$60 million of digital coins from a Japanese exchange, the latest in a string of thefts that have kept many institutional investors wary of putting their money into cryptocurrencies. The theft of bitcoin, monacoin and bitcoin cash from Zaif, an exchange owned by Osaka-based Tech Bureau Corp, occurred last week and was disclosed yesterday by Tech Bureau in a statement. About ¥2.2 billion (US$19.6 million) of stolen coins belonged to the exchange and the rest was client money. Withdrawals and deposits were halted as Zaif rebuilds its system, with the exchange unable to say when they would resume.
GAMING
PlayStation Classic coming
Sony Corp is rolling out a mini version of its original PlayStation game console, seeking to tap in to the retro craze and nostalgia of gamers who grew up with the iconic device. The new PlayStation Classic is to retail for US$99, while original consoles are on sale on EBay for about US$40 to US$60. Sony’s revamp comes pre-loaded with 20 games, including classic titles like Final Fantasy VII and Tekken 3. Sony is taking a page from the playbook of Nintendo Co, its Japanese rival and a master at reviving older systems. It is Sony’s first retro console offering and comes as its PlayStation 4 continues to dominate the gaming console market. The original PlayStation made its debut in Japan in December 1994. To date, Sony has sold about 82 million PS4s, gaming site VGChartz said.
NORWAY
Central bank raises key rate
The central bank yesterday raised its key interest rate for the first time in seven years, as the economy recovers from years of weak oil prices and the 2008 financial crisis. Norges Bank raised its key rate by 0.25 points to 0.75 percent and said a second hike was due again soon. “The executive board’s current assessment of the outlook and balance of risks suggests that the key policy rate will most likely be increased further in the first quarter of 2019,” Norges Bank Governor Oystein Olsen said in a statement. The rate has been at a record low since March 2016, following the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and plunging oil and gas prices. However, the economy has seen solid growth, thanks primarily to budget and monetary policies and the rising oil price. GDP grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter and 0.5 percent in the second.
BANKING
Danske facing massive fine
The Danish government yesterday said that Danske Bank A/S is potentially facing a fine of up to 4 billion kroner, or about US$630 million, if found guilty for its role in one of Europe’s biggest money laundering scandals. The penalty would mark a Danish record for such cases, and does not take into account potential fines that might be levied elsewhere. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates Danske might have to pay more than 1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion) in total, while a Bloomberg News survey points to about US$800 million, about the same amount that Deutsche Bank AG and ING Groep NV paid for similar misdeeds. Speculation about a fine follows a series of stunning announcements by Danske on Wednesday, including the resignation of Thomas Borgen as CEO and the admission that as much as US$234 billion flowed through its tiny Estonian unit from 2007 to 2015. Danish Financial Services Authority head Jesper Berg yesterday told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the agency would revisit a case that it had put on ice earlier this year, but is reported to have attracted the attention of US authorities.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last